“A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”
Barbara Zander
I am entering my sixth year of Taijiquan; it had me hooked from the beginning. I watched my 85 year old mother start Taijiquan on Whidbey Island and continue for 10 years and it looked like a good way to work on aging. It has become part of my daily routine.
I am an artist working in metal. I fold and hammer copper and brass into 2D and 3D art pieces. Taijiquan practice has certainly helped with the strength I need in my work. Asian influences have been a part of my art life for 35 years, so this feels like I’m completing a circle.
Outside of work, I enjoy traveling and exploring with my husband. My 8 year old granddaughter keeps me very busy indeed.
Kevin Fetherston
I am a forest ecologist working in the fields of conservation biology and restoration ecology. I consult, teach and lead teams of scientists throughout the American West, Pacific Northwest and Alaska. I am also in the SoulCraft Apprenticeship and Initiation Program at the Animas Valley Institute. I protect, conserve and restore our rivers and forests, assisting the myriad creatures that call these ecosystems home. I have been practicing Qigong for over 20 years. From the beginning it has always been a way I more deeply connect with the nature I love. I can get lost in many rounds of the Hands of the 18 Luohan practiced outdoors at my local parks. Breathing in the air of the Puget Sound, I hear the call of the city wild around me.
It is no secret at the school that I am married to its founder, Kim. We live with our cat Boots on the shores of the Salish sea close to my sister, brother-in-law and nephews and many friends of the human and non-human variety!
Cyndi Wolfe
I have been practicing Qigong at Embrace the Moon for 8 years. In that time it has become an important centering discipline for both mental and physical well being. My goal is to be a balanced individual as I age – active, safely moving through my daily tasks and ready to respond to any new challenge, confident in my abilities. Qigong aligns both my body and my mind. From a very practical perspective, I am safer on a ladder since I know where my weight is centered. Perhaps more importantly, I find I am able to respond to uncertainty with more resilience given my daily Qigong practice.
I am a fiber artist, dyeing, weaving and creating with silk. Color is my passion, particularly as it is influenced by the quality and intensity of light. As each new piece comes together it feels like painting with rainbows. I think that Qigong has helped me slow down, breath deeply and become more fully aware of the colors and patterns in the world around me. I am deeply grateful for the unexpected gifts this practice has given me.